Search age:

Search in:

'Bitterness' behind brutal murders: court

Lauren Farrow

Nine-year-old Terry Lin was alive for up to two hours after he was allegedly asphyxiated and bashed by his uncle in the boy's family home in Sydney, a court has heard.

The graphic details of the boy's death and that of his four family members were revealed during the crown's opening address at Lian Bin "Robert" Xie's trial on Friday.

Xie is accused of murdering his wife's brother Min "Norman" Lin, 45, Mr Lin's wife, Yun "Lily" Li Lin, 44 and their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9 in the early hours of July 18, 2009.

He is also alleged to have killed Lily's sister, Yun Bin "Irene" Yin, 39.

Advertisement

He has pleaded not guilty.

In outlining the crown case, prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said Xie was "motivated by bitterness" when he went to their North Epping home on the "particularly dark night" and turned off its electricity.

Without waking anyone, it is alleged Xie went into Min and Lily's bedroom first and murdered them in their beds.

He then killed the third adult, Irene.

These attacks, Mr Tedeschi said, involved numerous blows with a "hammer-like object" and likely happened while they were sleeping or "at most" while they were waking up.

Having killed those that represented the largest "threat", the crown says Xie then went into the bedroom the two boys Henry and Terry shared.

But here a struggle did break out.

Both boys, the crown said, showed signs of defensive wounds, with the crime scene indicating they had moved around their room.

Terry's injuries were consistent with that of a "furious struggle" and the nine-year-old survived for approximately one to two hours after the attack, the court heard.

Everyone except Irene showed signs they were asphyxiated.

None of the Lin family's neighbours heard a thing.

After slaying the family, it is alleged Xie would have been "covered in blood" when he walked the 300 metres back to his own home.

Xie then placed something on his garage floor and "unbeknown to him ... left a small area of blood smear that contained a mixture of three, four or five of the deceased persons," Mr Tedeschi told the jury.

When he cleaned his garage floor the following morning, this spot remained.

The court heard that Xie and his wife Kathy had gone to her brother's home on the morning of the 18th, after Min failed to turn up to work.

After discovering the crime scene, the court heard Kathy "pleaded" with Xie to stay, saying she was scared.

But Xie knowing "he himself was responsible for their deaths" left before eventually driving to Merrylands to pick up Kathy's parents, Mr Tedeschi said.

It is alleged that "many, many months" after the murders, Xie told a prisoner at Long Bay Jail that he had disposed of the murder weapon during this trip.

He is alleged to have also confided that he believed Kathy wouldn't be a danger to him as she had been sedated on the night her family died.